Being a lazy gardener

Lazy and gardening don't really go together. But, when you are limited on time and energy, you find shortcuts. It's beauty when the weather cooperates. We planted on Sunday, dumped a little water on the seeds, then the rain came. That cut down on hose dragging, besides being much more beneficial. Now all we need is a little lightning and there will be no need for fertilizer. We rarely use it anyway.
Ken is the master of the asparagus patch. He uses the huge leaves from the rhubarb plants and lays those down in the rows. They're good ground cover to avert weeds. As much as I enjoy weeding, anytime I can use ground cover, I do. Black plastic is effective in double layers. If you have a large enough garden, a rototiller is an excellent investment. We've used our $200 rototiller for over 20 years and have loaned it out to numerous friends and neighbors, and it still works. Tilling is good for the garden and a fast way to get rid of weeds. Pull the big weeds though..
As I wrote yesterday, broadcasting seeds is easier and more productive than planting rows for things like parsley, spinach and lettuce. I like to plant green onion seeds in rows, because they look so much like grass, it's hard to weed unless they're in rows. To plant a row, I always use a long string, tied to 2 sticks. Then use that same string for every row,  put sticks at each end of every row. For planting beans, push each seed down in the ground with a finger, 3 inches apart down the row. Then go back and cover with dirt. Be sure to make a garden map, writing down what you planted in what rows. I know it takes the mystery out of gardening, but its more rewarding that way.